"Tanner," replied the officer, "the ship is disgraced, the captain of the larboard watch in your top is sick in his hammock, and you are brutally drunk; we are behind every ship at the Nore, and you must answer this, heavily, to Captain Ferguson. Master-at-arms, put him in irons."

Before the latter part of this remark was uttered, Tanner had turned his eyes, late so "lack-lustre," indignantly towards his own top, and clenching his large fist towards the men, he exclaimed bitterly, "d-n their limbs, the lubberly hounds." Then, heedless of his own fate, he was taken to the gun-room, and placed in the bilboes; but his impending punishment was nothing, compared with the reproach which the first lieutenant had so judiciously thrown in ; and the thought that his top had caused "the shine to be taken out of the hooker," was more bitter to his feelings than either cat or disrating. As for the top-men, they were kept at exercise as long as there was light to perform it, and in such a manner as would make them remember topgallant yards as long as they should live.

In the evening the captain came on board, and was made acquainted with the affair. Accordingly, at seven bells next day, the hands were turned up, and the delinquent brought to his sentence. Now, though Captain Ferguson never forgave an offence against the discipline of the service, he was inflexibly just in another way. He never wreaked vengeance upon an offender by punishing beyond what might be considered due measure. Therefore, when the people were assembled, he ordered the man to stand before him, and addressed him in something like the following manner, his calm, dignified, and impressive deportment, giving additional weight to every syllable he uttered.

"Thomas Tanner, you have been guilty of a gross violation of the rules of the service; you have disgraced your shipmates, and the ship in which you serve, and you have given a shock and disappointment to me, who have heretofore had a good opinion of your deserts, and a respect for you in your station. I rated you as captain of the fore-top in consequence of that opinion and respect, and falsely conceived I was assisting his 'majesty's service, in selecting a sober and trustworthy man. I was mistaken; but, being undeceived, I can no longer, in justice, allow you to hold a station of responsibility, nor to do duty in a part of the ship where none but good seamen should go. I disrate you, therefore, from this day, and you will henceforth do your duty in the larboard watch, among the afterguard. Your conduct in future will be scrutinized, and it will depend upon yourself whether, at some distant day, you may or may not be restored to the station of a top-man."

He paused a moment, and then exclaimed, "Pipe down."

Ten dozen would have been a milder punishment than this; the poor wretch was cut to the soul. He retired, crest-fallen and humbled, to take his place in another watch-which, by the way, was merciful-and to perform services which, to the thorough-bred seaman, are always degrading : such as mere manual labor, pulling and hauling wherever he should be ordered, in the after part of the ship, and always under the eyes of the officers.

In such a ship, and under such a commander, it was my destiny to learn the elements of a profession, which has always been the pride of my existence; but I had another advantage, in the technical and mechanical part of

it, which I obtained casually. My station, when working ship, or when all hands were upon deck, was the forecastle; in short, I was one of the "fore castle midshipmen." Now, among seamen, this is the post of honor, as the men for that station are always picked, old, thorough-bred tars, whose least boast is, that they can "hand, reef, steer, heave the lead, and rig and unrig a ship, from her water line to the mast head, and from the after end of the spanker to the flying-jib-boom end;" and besides all this, they can mat, and thrum, mend sails, make rope, cut out trowsers as taut as the skin of a furled foresail," and cover hats with tarpaulin as it were an integral part of the fabric. These men are, besides, full of long yarns, of their own exploits, of doughty commanders under whom they have served, of wonderful ships, in which they have sailed, of desperate adventures and fearful dangers, in which they have been involved; they sing old ballads, any one of which will last out a whole dog-watch; they look with contempt on all other stations of the ship except those of the quarter-masters, and upon every other forecastle in the world except their own. They are all dry jokers, they contemn danger and difficulty, they despise innovation upon received and established practices, and are the most superstitious set of beings upon the face of the waters.

With these men I soon became a sort of favorite, partly because I had so earnest a desire to become a practical seaman, and partly because it became known, presently, that I had been in the merchant service, and had been impressed. This latter circumstance, whilst it in no wise diminished the respect with which they treated me, was nevertheless a passport to their good will, as making me more like themselves ;-they probably were, every one, pressed men,-and I overheard one of them saying of me," that I had come in at the hawse holes, as every seaman should, and not in at the cabin windows." With one of these I became a particular favorite, an old tar barrel, or rather an old sand cask, for he was so universally liked in the ship for his genuine good nature, and the stiff yarns he told of the "ould Claopatry," that could do anything;-" could sail through a needle's eye, luff within four points of the wind, and beat the d-l himself, by a large," that half the "plush" went down Alick Johnson's throat; yet was he no more affected by it, than would the Arabian deserts by a like libation. Alick had always something to tell either of the “ saucy Claopatry," or of the "ould ball of rope yarns," or "bully ruffian," by either of which latter terms was meant the Bellerophon; and if his stock were even exhausted, he scrupled not to begin again, assured that the subject was as grateful to his hearers, as to the delighted speaker himself. Alick was one of those whose dandyism consisted of a jacket and waistcoat very thickly set with buttons, a pair of trowsers, the after part of which were as tight as a drum, a long and very thick queue, and a hat with a low crown and hardly any brim, but covered with tarred linen, by his own "fair" hands;—the latter object was the idol of his adoration; after the evening grog, which was his nearest approach to inebriety, though his faculties were never confounded, he would caress this beloved object with great ardor of affection, and spurn with scorn any other hat which the wags affected to hold in higher estimation. A remarkable instance of this man's fondness in such a trifle I witnessed myself.

A few days after I joined the "Ardour," among other matters of duty

the captain ordered that the bowsprit should be fresh gammoned. This is an important operation, which, however, I need not describe here, and is always committed to the best hands even of the forecastle men. Among others was honest Alick, who kept all alive with his many-times-told tales, and who worked away with his "beautiful castor" on his head. In the course of the work he had occasion to go forward on the bowsprit beyond the gammoning; either a rope struck him, or, from some other cause, he fell overboard, and in trying to save himself, he caught hold of a small line awkwardly, which formed a bight over his thumb, and from the force of his descent, actually drew that member out of the socket, and clear away from the hand. By the loss of his thumb he got clear of the jam, he swam like a duck, and was presently taken in-board again, where the first words he uttered were, d-n my eyes, where's my hat? I say, lads, which of you saw my hat?" Alas! the hat was gone forever; a strong flood tide was at the instant carrying it up towards Sheerness, and Alick never saw the beautiful appendage more.-As for the dismemberment, and the bleeding hand, they were not thought of, until some one cried out, "why, Alick, what the d-l has become of your thumb ?"

"By the lord Harry," replied Alick, "the thumb has gone after the hat, sure enough, and I suppose they will both come back together.-Well, I must go and get soldered up."

And this was all the heedless creature cared about the loss of an useful member; and with him, and such as he, my nautical education was advanced, and I was preparing myself for hoped for command.

Hitherto my nautical experience had been, in the dangers of the deep, in those of a particular trade, and in practical seamanship;-I was now to see and learn those of nautical warfare, for Captain Ferguson was not a man to keep aloof, when hard knocks were going; on the contrary, he was but too ambitious of more than his share, so that honor could be obtained.

TRUE DIGNITY.

PHILOSOPHERS, and men who think beneath the surfaces of things, assert that true dignity exists in the mind, and is independent of external circumstances; whilst the great mass of mankind, imagine that it can only be found in elevated station, and the old world particularly are given to the conclusion, that it only exists in conjunction with the pride of ancestry, and in the contemplation of a long list of noble, illustrious, and affluent predecessors. That such a contemplation may dignify the feelings, and incite the scion of such a stock to respect himself, and take the most correct means to make himself respected, is probable enough, and such an effect is very often produced. But that this true dignity of soul is not inseparably connected with such collaterals may frequently be proved.-The following is perhaps as decisive upon the case as can be given :

A boy, the son of a barber, was observed to be attentive to the duties of the petty school to which he was sent, and to labor hard to improve himself according to the small means that could be afforded to him. A solicitor in his neighborhood perceived the industry of the lad, and the propriety of his deportment; he fancied he saw in him something more than the every day production of humble life, and accordingly made an offer to the VOL. I.

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parents of the boy, to take him into his service, partly to perform duties of a domestic nature, and occasionally to assist in the office as a writer or copyist. Of course the offer was gladly and thankfully accepted. In his new situation he ever behaved with respect to his master and with propriety to those around him; but it was quickly seen, that he lent all the attention which time would permit, to the study of law books in his master's library. The solicitor was not slow in distinguishing his merits, nor did he hesitate to show unequivocally his approbation of the lad's conduct; he offered to defray out of his own pocket, the fee for legal articles, and enable him to pursue the profession in his own office. Here was another important step for the youth, who now pursued his studies with ardor, and performed his duties with a zeal which only sincere and deeply felt gratitude could inspire. Yet was not adulation towards his superior, nor arrogance towards the class he was leaving behind ever evinced from him.

He served his articles out, was entered an attorney in the Court of King's Bench, and practice followed in reasonable proportion; but our youth, now a man, was seized with a nobler ambition, and resolved to quit the grade of solicitor, and try his fortune at the bar. He was admitted to keep terms, passed through them, and was called to the bar, with the respect and good wishes of all classes of his profession. And what had produced this universal good feeling? Not the fawning sycophantic expressions and actions of a vulgar soul, but the modest, respectful, but independent conduct of a mind well constructed. He pursued his career with undeviating but quiet course, was gradually raised in legal eminence and legal dignity, until he became Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, the highest common law office that can be held under the British crown.

And here, to any but one whom insult cannot injure, and whose equinimity is such as worldly caprice cannot unsettle, he received his first indignity, following hard upon his highest honor, from the same hands,-those of "the finest gentleman in Europe," by which title was recognised the late King George IV.

It is customary to make the magistrate above alluded to a peer of the realm, but this was refused to the distinguished subject of this article, on the ground of low extraction. He therefore held the office with the honor of knighthood only, for some time ;-but justice could not be withheld forever. So happily did he deport himself in this elevated and important situation,with such suavity to the bar, such mildness to the witnesses, such independence in the expression of opinion,-occasionally familiar, and even facetious, that he could convulse the court with the sallies of his wit, yet ever so dignified, that no one durst presume upon his good nature,—always listened to with respect-rarely, very rarely an appeal from his judgment, -his name was equally synonimous with justice and gentleman, and at length the title came, tardily, which added nothing to his real elevation, though it gave him a seat in the legislation of the nation, as a peer,—and which in fact only added an additional duty to those he had already in his hands.

Henceforth he acted with zeal and rectitude of intention in the twofold capacity of legislator and judge, and died a short time back, regretted and respected universally,- -as the great and good Charles Abbot, LORD TEN

TERDEN.

SPECIMEN OF THE ITALIAN TRAGEDIANS.

VICTOR ALFIERI.

Or all the modern schools of dramatic composition, there is perhaps not one more worthy of attention than the Italian.-In the English language no writer has appeared, more recent than the days of Otway, who can advance the slightest claim to be considered of a higher grade, than a composer for the stage, unless we except the highly gifted authoress of Count Basil and De Montfort; the dramatic works of Byron cannot be deemed exceptions, for whatever merit they possess, and in some instances it is very exalted, is that of poetical rather than scenic effect. Of the French tragic theatre we have never been very warm admirers; wanting alike the depth and power of the romantic school, and the harmonious dignity of the Athenian drama, it holds in our opinion the lowest rank in its peculiar class of literature;-Germany indeed has produced, and still continues to produce, writers of no ordinary stamp ;-the name of Schiller is in itself an host, nor are those of Tieckh, and Kleist, and Grillparzer, and others more than we have leisure to enumerate, to be passed in silence.Great however as may be the value of individual works from each and all of these, we hesitate not, still to award the palm to Italy, as having given birth to a school possessing in a high degree the qualifications which charm alike in the closet, or upon the stage ;-and of all the minstrels, who have contributed to render the soft harmony of the modern Tuscan inferior to no language, in point of the treasures which it contains, save its manlier predecessors of Rome and early Greece, not one has been more widely, or more justly celebrated, than he who furnishes the subject of our present article. --Born of a wealthy and Patrician family at Asti in Piedmont, of impetuous passions, and unbridled temper, despising and loathing the tedium of education, Victor Alfieri at an early age rushed forth into the world on the pursuit of pleasure; he travelled with unequalled speed over the greater part of the European continent, nor were the follies, and the vices, the amours, and the horsemanship of the youthful noble less widely bruited abroad than his subsequent poetic glory.-Like Byron, he

in turn ran through

All that was beautiful and new,

and like him he turned in satiety and disgust from "women, wassail, wine and treasure," and applied himself with unexampled ardor to the pursuit of literary glory.-To relieve a weary hour by the sick bed of his mistress, he composed a single scene, the scene swelled into a drama; and flushed by its success and eager for a yet more ample reign of glory, he devoted his hours to the studies which he had neglected in his boyhood, deliberately commenced a course of education to fit him for the profession of poetry, and despite the old adage of " Poeta nascitur," succeeded to the height of his ambition.-In the course of ten years he produced fourteen tragedies, distinguished by a grandeur and dignity, both of style and sentiment unsurpassed except by the earliest masters of the tragic shell; a nervousness of dialogue,-a force of character,-and a depth of feeling, inferior to Shakspeare alone;-closed a life of riot and debauchery by a maturity of harmony, and an age of glory; and when his earthly career was ended, slept